Nestled in the heart of Burgundy, the quaint French village of Nuit-Saint-Georges, with its population of just over 5,000, holds a celestial secret. Despite its modest size, this charming hamlet has forged an extraordinary bond with the moon, a connection that spans centuries and continues to inspire awe.
This village is the birthplace of Felix Tisserand, a celebrated 19th-century astronomer whose legacy is immortalized in the Tisserand crater, located on the moon’s Sea of Serenity. Tisserand’s work coincided with that of Jules Verne, the visionary French author of From the Earth to the Moon, a groundbreaking novel that imagined lunar travel. In a delightful nod to Nuit-Saint-georges, Verne’s characters toast their lunar arrival with a bottle of wine from the village.
Fast forward a century, and the village’s lunar ties deepened when Apollo 15 astronauts visited and were gifted a special wine, Cuvee Terre Lune – Lunar earth vintage. This gesture inspired the astronauts to name another lunar crater after the town. Today,the village proudly boasts a square named Place du cratere Saint-Georges,a testament to its enduring lunar legacy.
Now, a new project is set to strengthen this cosmic connection even further. Sanctuary on the Moon, an ambitious international initiative, aims to create a lunar time capsule that will serve as a detailed guide to our current civilization. Spearheaded by Benoit Faiveley, a native of Nuit-Saint-Georges, the project has garnered support from NASA, UNESCO, and the administration of French President Emmanuel Macron. While future support remains uncertain, the project is on track to launch within the next few years.
The Golden Record: A Timeless Inspiration
The Sanctuary on the Moon project draws inspiration from a historic endeavor: the Golden Records attached to NASA’s Voyager spacecraft in 1977. These records were designed as a message to potential extraterrestrial life, encapsulating the essence of Earth’s culture and biodiversity.
Conceived by the legendary astronomer Carl Sagan, the Golden Records feature a curated selection of sounds and images. from the intricacies of DNA and human anatomy to the beauty of landscapes, architecture, and music, the records offer a snapshot of life on Earth. The musical selections range from classical compositions by Bach and Beethoven to the electrifying sounds of chuck Berry and the haunting calls of humpback whales. Intriguingly, the records also include brainwave recordings of a person contemplating various topics, including the sensation of falling in love.
Though, one notable omission is the Beatles’ iconic track, Here Comes the Sun. As Sagan recounted in his 1978 book, Murmurs of Earth, EMI, the record company, denied permission to include the song. “One can only conclude that EMI must have been worried that aliens would rip off the Beatles,” Sagan humorously noted.
As the Sanctuary on the Moon project moves forward, it carries the spirit of the Golden Records into a new era. By preserving humanity’s story on the lunar surface, this initiative not only honors the past but also looks to the future, ensuring that our legacy endures for generations to come.
Sanctuary on the Moon: A Time Capsule for the Ages
Imagine a message from humanity, preserved for millions of years, waiting to be discovered by future generations—or perhaps even extraterrestrial explorers. This is the ambitious vision behind Sanctuary on the Moon, a project that aims to create a time capsule unlike any other. By 2027, 24 sapphire discs, each packed with billions of pixels of facts, will be sent to the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis mission. These discs will serve as a testament to human knowledge, culture, and curiosity, designed to endure the test of time.
The Vision Behind the Project
The brainchild of engineer and journalist Benoit Faiveley, Sanctuary on the Moon was inspired by Carl Sagan’s Golden Records, which were sent into space aboard the Voyager spacecraft in the 1970s. Though, unlike Sagan’s records, which were intended for extraterrestrial audiences, Faiveley’s project is designed for humanity’s distant descendants. “If we were to leave content for millions and millions and millions of years in pristine condition on the surface of another world,” Faiveley asks, “what would we say?”
The answer lies in the 24 sapphire discs, each just 10 centimeters in diameter. These discs are engraved with up to seven billion pixels of information, covering topics such as Matter and Atoms, Space and Universe, life and Biology, and even detailed maps of the human genome. The use of sapphire, the second hardest mineral on Earth, ensures the discs can withstand the harsh conditions of space and time.
Designing for the Future
Each disc is a marvel of engineering and artistry.The pixels are arranged to create both readable text under magnification and striking visual collages visible to the naked eye. As a notable example, the Space disc features a space-suited astronaut, the moon’s phases, and Earth’s position in the Milky Way. When magnified, it transforms into a thorough guide to our current understanding of the cosmos.
As of now, the Sanctuary team has completed preliminary designs for 10 of the 24 discs. The remaining 14 must be finalized and engraved by 2027, in time for their launch the following year. The discs will be housed in a protective aluminum container and transported to the moon via NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload services (CLPS) program, which collaborates with private companies to deliver payloads to the lunar surface.
Why Sapphire and Simplicity?
while the idea of using engraved mineral plates might seem low-tech, it’s a deliberate choice to ensure longevity. “If you want to convey information to the far future, you have to go back to the basics, so to speak,” explains faiveley. Modern storage methods like DVDs or CDs may degrade over time, but sapphire offers unparalleled durability. This makes it an ideal medium for preserving humanity’s collective knowledge for eons.
A Message Across Time
The exact landing site for the time capsule has yet to be determined, but wherever it ends up, the discs will remain untouched until someone—or something—finds them. Whether that happens in a hundred years or a million, the Sanctuary on the Moon project represents a bold attempt to communicate across unimaginable stretches of time.
In a world increasingly dominated by fleeting digital data, this lunar time capsule serves as a reminder of humanity’s enduring curiosity and ingenuity. It’s a message to the future, etched in sapphire and sent to the stars.
Preserving Humanity’s Legacy for the Future
Imagine a time capsule that could survive for a million years, waiting to be discovered by future civilizations or even extraterrestrial beings. That’s the ambitious vision behind the Sanctuary project, a groundbreaking initiative to preserve human knowledge and culture on the Moon. “sanctuary is scientific and poetic, in equal measure,” says Martin Brzezinski, a key figure in the project.
The team behind Sanctuary is creating a series of discs etched with a wealth of information,designed to be both functional and visually captivating. These discs are not just repositories of data; they are works of art that reflect humanity’s achievements, creativity, and curiosity. As project lead Jean-Marc Faiveley explains, “we wanted something that would be appealing to the eye, something that would hold a lot of information.Something that would be serious but also funny, complex and simple.”
At the heart of each disc is a global key: the International Unit System, which defines measurements in a way that transcends language barriers. Surrounding this core is a “Rosetta Stone” of human language, featuring the Universal Declaration of Human Rights translated into multiple languages, including French, English, Arabic, Greek, Chinese, Dhivehi, and Inuktitut. This ensures that whoever discovers the discs will have the tools to decode and understand their contents.
“The question then became,‘What do we want to convey?’” says Faiveley. “No one can speak on behalf of humankind, but we can at least speak with humanity.”
A Scientific and Artistic Endeavor
The Sanctuary project is a unique blend of science and art, aiming to capture the essence of human civilization. Faiveley describes it as a “triptych” that explores three essential themes: “What we are, what we know, and what we make – and what we make is art.”
This dual focus on information and aesthetics has drawn the attention of UNESCO, which has contributed renderings of all World Heritage Sites to be included in the final designs. The discs will also feature celestial maps, showcasing humanity’s understanding of the cosmos throughout history.
“Who doesn’t say, ‘Yeah, I want to work on something that’s going to space or to the moon’?” Faiveley remarks with a grin. “Especially when it’s cultural.”
But beyond its cultural significance,Sanctuary is deeply rooted in science. The team aims to document the boundaries of human knowledge,rather than attempting to encapsulate everything we certainly know. Faiveley draws a parallel to ancient maps, where unexplored regions were labeled as “terra incognita.”
“I’ve always been fascinated by terra incognita – what lies beyond it?” he says. “In the same way, Sanctuary isn’t about recording everything we know. It’s about marking the edges of our understanding.”
A Message to the Future
The Sanctuary project is more than just a time capsule; it’s a message to the future, a testament to humanity’s ingenuity and resilience. By combining science, art, and culture, the team hopes to create a lasting legacy that will inspire and inform generations to come.
as Faiveley puts it, “We’re not just preserving knowledge; we’re preserving the spirit of exploration and curiosity that defines us as a species.”
At the heart of the Sanctuary on the Moon project lies a groundbreaking effort to map the human genome, a task so significant that it occupies four of the 24 discs in the collection. These discs aim to capture the essence of humanity, not just through art and science but by delving into the very blueprint of life itself.
“The genome discs are central to Sanctuary because they represent who we are as living beings,” explains Brzezinski. “While other discs showcase human creativity—art, science, and ideas—the genome discs reveal the biological information encoded within us.”
The first genome disc includes a comprehensive guide to decoding human DNA,alongside a condensed version of the tree of life that traces humanity’s evolutionary journey. It also features the complete genomes of two men and two women, selected through a double-blind process from a group of “super seniors”—individuals aged 85 or older who have lived free of major health issues. these genomes were chosen to minimize the presence of mutations linked to diseases like cancer. Additionally, the disc highlights common genetic mutations observed across the global population, ensuring a broader representation of humanity’s genetic diversity.
“this was a crucial aspect for me,” Brzezinski notes. “Focusing on just two individuals felt too narrow. We needed to include a way to represent everyone else, too.”
Despite the overwhelming density of genetic data,which consumes over 99% of the available pixels on the four discs,the team made room for art. They included the song Moon above by the Norwegian band Flunk,composed specifically for the project. While genomes reveal the biological foundations of life, art and music add depth, offering a more holistic understanding of what it means to be human.
“The project’s 100 billion pixels may seem like a lot,” admits Faiveley, “but they’re still a tiny fraction of what it takes to encapsulate the entirety of who we are.”
A Message for future Generations
Unlike the Golden Records, which were designed with extraterrestrial audiences in mind, Sanctuary on the Moon is a time capsule intended for humanity’s distant descendants.But who exactly is it meant for?
“Sanctuary might be discovered millions of years from now by our descendants,” says Faiveley. “They may not resemble us, but I believe the thrill of uncovering a treasure will remain universal. The excitement of asking, ‘What’s inside? What dose it mean?’ will endure, even a million years from now.”
Faiveley draws a parallel to the work of Jean-Francois Champollion, the 19th-century Egyptologist who deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics. “Champollion unlocked the secrets of a lost civilization. I hope this project finds its way to a future Champollion, someone who can unravel its mysteries and connect with our world.”
Working on a project that peers millions of years into the future has a profound impact, Faiveley reflects. It shifts perspectives, reminding us of the fleeting nature of our existence and the enduring legacy we strive to leave behind.
Exploring Humanity’s Legacy Through the Lens of Deep Time
Imagine a timeline stretching millions of years into the past and future—a concept known as “deep time.” This idea challenges us to reflect on humanity’s place in the vast expanse of history and evolution. “To grasp the scale of deep time, you must look back,” explains one expert. “Two thousand years ago marked the dawn of Christendom. Five millennia ago, the pyramids of Egypt rose. Seventeen thousand years ago, artists painted the walls of the Lascaux caves in France. Thirty-four thousand years ago, the Chauvet Cave bore witness to early human creativity. And 3.2 million years ago, Lucy, the Australopithecus, walked the Earth. What will remain of us in the distant future? How will we evolve?”
While the Sanctuary project may appear fixated on the future, it is equally rooted in the present.As palaeontologist Jean-Sebastien Steyer notes, “It paradoxically urges us to pause, reflect, and consider who we are.” This duality of looking forward while examining the now is at the heart of Sanctuary’s mission.
A Message from a Troubled era
In a world grappling with escalating conflicts, nuclear threats, and climate crises, the idea of a time capsule like Sanctuary raises profound questions. Is it a safeguard for humanity’s knowledge in the face of potential collapse? According to Faiveley, the project is not about survivalism or preparing for doomsday.“Sanctuary is about sharing knowledge and preserving what matters to us,” he clarifies. “It’s also a statement on the fragility of our world and ourselves.It will include information on global warming and other aspects of humanity we may not be proud of.”
Faiveley is rapid to dispel any notion of Sanctuary as a post-apocalyptic survival kit. “This isn’t about rebooting civilization in an emergency,” he says. “Rather, it’s a symbolic act of preserving our biological and cultural essence. It carries profound meaning.”
Drawing inspiration from ancient wisdom, Faiveley paraphrases Ptahhotep, an Egyptian writer whose teachings have endured for over 4,500 years: “It is good to speak to the future. It will listen.”
